Flow with the Snow
by thirdorigin
Summary: A collection of little fluffy Gruvia stories. Day 1: Cook, Day 2: Artist, Day 3: Snow, Day 4: Hot chocolate, Day 6: Bath.
1. Cook

**_Author's note: _**_Thanks everyone for your reviews! They always make me very happy ^^ So if someone is hesitating to write one, please do - even if it won't be very enthusiastic, it's still a valuable information for me!_

_This is a collection of __my stories for Gruvia fluff-fest (on tumblr). Those stories are not related to each other and can be read in any order._

_Cook (~1700 words) - Gray really wants to cook something for her for a change, but it proves to be quite a challenge when she constantly sticks her nose in his pots._

_Artist (2700) - Juvia makes an unusual gift for Gray's birthday, but it's not easy to even get him see it, especially that it's so snowy outside, and he is, ah, well, you guessed it: naked._

_Snow (1000) - Snow is like ice and water combined, right? Or maybe not? :)_

_Hot chocolate (2800) - They say chocolate is good for your mental health. Probably they've never had to cope with Juvia after she had seven in a row..._

_Bath (2400) - let's just say it was not what you'd like to see when waking up from your underwater slumber._

_Hope you'll like it! Expect some silliness - _

* * *

><p><strong>Cook<strong>

_Ding-dong!_

Gray left the eggs he was breaking, brushed hands off his apron and went to get the door. He didn't expect anyone at this hour, but -

"Gray-sama! Juvia is here!" she beamed brightly.

"Ah? But why?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Well, Gray-sama told Juvia to come, didn't he?" her eyes grew wide, as she hesitated – probably, Gray mused, starting to think that it was all her imagination.

"Well, yes, but you are five hours early." Gray measured her with his eyes, having problem to decide if he should be more irritated or amused.

"But Juvia just couldn't wait! She is so excited!" she clasped her hands, as her eyes flooded with joy and relief. "Juvia can wait here, if Gray-sama doesn't want her inside..." She fidgeted, blushing slightly.

Gray sighed.

"No, come in," he said, stepping aside. "It's just that I'm not prepared yet. I was going to cook you a dinner."

"Really?" She fixed her eyes on his. "Gray-sama is cooking?"

"Well, I thought..." He scratched his head in embarrassment. "You always cook for me, so I thought I might do something for you, too." Truth was, he felt a little bit guilty with all those gifts she showered him with, while he did literally nothing.

"That's wonderful, Gray-sama," Juvia smiled, drifting nearer to him. "Can Juvia help?"

"Ah? But the point is that I cook for you, so you shouldn't be helping." He frowned.

"But Juvia loves cooking!" Her eyes were pleading. "Can Juvia help? She would be so happy!"

"Hmm..."

"Juvia will do everything that Gray-sama tells her!"

"Well, but - "

"Juvia will be a good girl!"

"But - "

"Juvia promises!"

"Fine!" he scowled at her, and she hopped in place, squealing. "But I'm doing the main work, is it clear? I am the one cooking here."

"Yes, yes, Gray-sama! Yes! Juvia can chop things and stuff! Whatever Gray-sama wants."

"Well then," he shrugged, giving up. Just a little bit probably couldn't hurt, could it?

* * *

><p>"Here it goes, Gray-sama! Juvia chopped those tomatoes just as you said!"<p>

"Thanks," he muttered, distracted. Something was wrong with his dough, he knew, but he did everything as in the recipe, so how could it go awry like that?

"Umm... It's too thick, Gray-sama," she said, peeking over his arm. "Gray-sama could add some water, like this," she poured some water into his dough. "And now it needs some kneading." She started to work the dough up with the moves that looked ten times more professional than his.

"Hey, hey!" he whisked the dough out of her hands and gently elbowed her aside. "I'm doing this, remember?"

"But Juvia just wanted to help!"

"But that's too much! You promised you would do as I say, didn't you?"

She nodded her head slowly, looking at the floor with apologetic expression.

"Now, shoo," he waved her away from his work.

"So what should Juvia do?" she asked eagerly.

"Sit down, relax and read Weekly Sorcerer or somethin', " he grumbled, getting back to the dough.

Juvia sighed and sat on the chair by the other table. He finished with the dough and left it to rest, than moved on to prepare the cottage cheese filling.

"Gray-sama, you forgot to add the salt!" she told him.

"Thanks," he flashed her a glare. "But wasn't you supposed to read something instead?"

"Umm. Yes." She reluctantly went back to whatever newspaper was in front of her.

Gray stirred the mass some more and went to check up on the dough. When he turned back, however, Juvia was hovering dangerously close to the bowl with filling.

"Um, that's good, Gray-sama!" she smiled broadly, slowly licking a spoon. "But, it would be even better if Gray-sama added some pepper, and also it needs some more yogurt or cream, otherwise - "

"JUVIA," he growled, picking her up and carrying her away from his creation. "No hijacking my cooking!" She squealed softly when he put her down at the opposite corner of the kitchen. "It's not gonna be as perfect as yours," he told her, "But I'm doing this, not you. Just let me."

"Uhm. Um," Juvia mumbled, fidgeting a bit, her cheeks tainted red. "Yes, Gray-sama."

"Will you behave?" he frowned at her.

"Yes, yes," she confirmed weakly, but her eyes wandered around in distraction. "But, Gray-sama..."

"Yeah?"

"How did you manage to get rid of all your clothes without taking off the apron first? Juvia has a problem comprehending it."

"Uh?" Gray glanced down to discover evident lack of shirt and pants. Then he peeked under his apron to confirm that, indeed, he managed to lose _everything._ "Erm... Just give me a moment," he said quickly and ran away in search of clothes.

When he came back, Juvia was already laying his dough down in the baking pan.

"Juvia! For god's sake," he snarled, gently pushing her away from the table. "You're behaving worse than Erza in front of a strawberry cake."

"But the oven is already hot enough, Gray-sama..."

"It will be hot in a minute too," Gray scowled her. "If you don't have anything to do," he said, taking another apron from the hook and giving it to her, "Here. You were wondering how did I do it – try it yourself."

"G-Gray-sama wants Juvia to take her clothes off?" Her eyes grew round and wide and his face suddenly got a whole lot warmer. Well, he wouldn't oppose it – at least not too much.

"Pfft, you're not going to manage without taking the apron off anyway," he grumbled, quickly turning back to his tart-to-be. "It's only for pros."

He filled the tart with cheese, arranged the tomatoes on the top and put it into the oven, noticing quiet sounds of frustration coming from behind his back.

"Umm, Gray-sama... Juvia has a problem."

He turned to her slowly, full of bad feelings about this, only to burst out with laughter when he saw her - twisted uncomfortably on the chair with the apron binding her hands behind her back.

"How did you do it?" he asked, brushing the tears from his eyes while she pouted at him.

"Juvia just tried to take her collar off..."

"And you managed to tie yourself to the chair?"

"Well... It wasn't easy." She bit her lip, squirming uncomfortably. "Just as Gray-sama said..."

Gray collected himself and started to untie her, but then a genius thought crossed his mind.

"You know what?" he looked at her triumphantly. "That's actually perfect." Smirking, he went back to the kitchen top to prepare the salad.

"Gray-sama!" she protested. "Aren't you going to untie Juvia?"

"Well, were you a good girl?" He raised a brow at her.

"Huh?"

"This way you won't hijack my cooking anymore."

"Gray-sama..."

"No way." Well, maybe it was not the nicest thing in the world, but he was already irritated enough. This way, at least the rest of the evening could go peacefully. "Not until I finished cooking."

Humming happily, he chopped the vegetables for the salad and started to prepare a vinaigrette.

Juvia tried to fight with her bonds for a while, then she sighed and gave up.

"Maybe Gray-sama just likes Juvia tied up," she purred.

Gray glanced at her, trying not to think of how he likes it, indeed. She was harmless like that – couldn't jump at him, nor stuff her nose in his cooking, not spread her breast on his arm like she often liked to – and speaking of this breast, it did look even more impressive when she was sitting like _that._ "You're not gonna provoke me," he answered, swallowing.

"Gray-sama likes it when Juvia cannot resist him," she said. "But maybe, Gray-sama, you know, it would be better to tie Juvia to some other furniture... Hmm..." She fidgeted, licking her lips. "Juvia behaved badly, after all."

Gray gave her a long look – surely something disturbingly fascinating was going on in her head - came closer and leaned over her, almost touching the tip of he nose with his. Her dreamy expression turned into unsure and flustered, as she squealed under his gaze and pressed her back more into the chair, her eyes growing rounder and rounder.

He smiled at her, raised a hand armed with a spoon and hit her gently on the nose. "No," he said.

The look on her face almost made him laugh, but he managed to suppressed it until turning back to vegetables.

"Gray-sama..." Her voice was dazed and weak. "The tart..."

"Oh, you're right!" He pulled it out of the oven and cut a bit to try. "Umm, that's good! You want to try?"

Juvia nodded enthusiastically.

Gray cut a slice off and hesitated. Should he untie her now? But some part of him didn't really want to.

He picked up the slice, and, as his heart started stupidly pounding for some unknown reason, put it close to her mouth. She looked at him, bewildered and flushed, but shyly took a bit.

"Uhm... That's delicious, Gray-sama..." she sighed, smiling.

He smirked triumphantly, pride of job well done throwing him out of his bedazzlement. "See? I can do it," he boasted.

Juvia took another bite from his hand.

"Uh, wait, I'll untie you," he knelt beside her chair, suddenly embarrassed that he had left her like that.

"Although..." she mused, chewing. "With fresh basil on top it would be even better... And sprinkled with some olive oil! That would be perfect... And if - "

Gray stopped his attempts at rescue to squint at her reproachfully.

"What's wrong, Gray-sama?" She sent him a gaze of perfect innocence.

Gray shook his head. "You know what," he said, fastening her bonds instead of undoing them, "Suddenly I feel like making a dessert."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's note: <strong>Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated. (also, if you see any mistakes, let me know. Or if you are my superhero and want to be my beta lol then all the more let me know :P)_


	2. Artist

**Artist**

Juvia straightened up, stomped her feet a few times to get rid of the remnants of snow from her boots, and took a deep breath. "Gray-sama!" she called, knocking on his doors. "Please wake up!"

He would probably be deep asleep, she knew. It was early winter morning and sun didn't yet rise; all the trees, the road and Gray-sama's house were embedded in the snow, looking all magical and uncanny in the moonlight. It was so quiet and peaceful, she felt almost like profaning it with all her shouting.

She still had to do it, though.

"Gray-sama!" she cried again. "Gray-sama! Please wake up!"

She jumped in surprise when the door flung open and her beloved leaned limply against the door frame, clad only in his boxers.

"Juvia?" he yawned."What's the noise 'bout?' What time's it?" He looked around at the completely dark skies, shivering slightly.

"It's already morning, Gray-sama," she assured him. "Even though it doesn't look like it. And it's your birthday! So please, come with Juvia and - "

"No, you're mistaken." He looked at her in disbelief. "My birthday is next year. So, see ya then - "

"Wait, Gray-sama!" Juvia rushed to catch his arm before he managed to go back inside. "Please, hear Juvia out. Besides, she is pretty sure that birthday is something that you have every year."

"Ooh," he massaged his forehead, his dark, hazy eyes focusing somewhere behind her ear. "Why do you have to be so clever at this hour...?"

"Juvia just..." she let his arm go and turned her gaze downwards. "She knows it's very early, but she made a birthday gift for Gray-sama and she is not sure how long it will last. And also she thought it would be more pretty in the sunrise, so if you could be so good and come with Juvia..."

"Huh... Well, okay." he mumbled half-consciously, turned on his heel and went outside.

Juvia covered her mouth with hands. "Gray-sama!" she shouted, running after him. "But you can't go like this in this freezing cold!"

"Why?" he looked at himself, then at her, still not comprehending.

"Gray-sama has to put something on," she explained, dragging him back to the house.

He grumbled something unintelligible, thrown a jacket around his arms and turned to go outside again.

"Gray-sama!" she caught him and kept him in place. "It's not enough! Some clothes!"

"You're so demanding today," he muttered drowsily. She knew that he still didn't really wake up and was just forcing himself to fulfill her wishes. Part of her – and huge part at that – wanted to take him to his bed, tuck him in and sit there for hours, looking at him sleeping.

But she couldn't possibly do that. All her work would be wasted.

"Clothes... clothes..." Gray-sama was helplessly looking around, not really seeing anything.

"You know what, Gray-sama," she sighed, gently pushing him towards nearby chair. "You just sit here, and Juvia will go find some clothes for you."

"Thanks," he mumbled, half falling on the chair and closing his eyes immediately. She saw how his chest started to rise slower as he descended into slumber. For a moment she just stood there in awe, paralyzed as always on this rare occasions when he felt asleep around her. His face would always become tranquil, like that, and for some time his usual frown would be wiped out, and he would look so peaceful, happy and safe, and utterly beautiful.

But she couldn't afford to stand like there for long. She shook her head and went to search for his clothes.

It didn't take her too long to get back with his pants, shirt, sweater and a pair of socks. "Gray-sama," she blushed brightly and scolded him, seeing what he's done. "You were supposed to put more clothes on, not to take them off. Now wake up."

He didn't react in a any way, so she hunted down his boxers (they were hanging from a lamp) and jacket (on the floor near the window), threw some of his clothes on his lap to prevent herself from staring (for some reason her gaze tended to wander places) and touched his hair.

"Gray-sama," she hummed, brushing it with her fingers. "Wake up."

"Just five minutes more, mom," he pleaded in his slumber, shifting away from her. Juvia's heart fluttered in awe. If he was dreaming about his family, how could she interrupt him?

But she had spent whole night preparing the gift for him, and she thought – she hoped – it might really be to his liking. She wanted him to see it.

"Gray-sama," she squeezed his arm. "It's Juvia. Please wake up - "

"Juvia," he slurred, caught her arm and pulled her onto his lap. She squealed and tried to escape – not that she wouldn't _theoretically_ want to sit on his lap, but there was this – _this – _well, this part of his body that she maybe didn't want to get too acquainted to, well, not that she'd never want to – _probably_ – but just yet, it seemed like hundred years too early and she was not prepared -

but he wrapped her tightly in his arms and lay his head on her shoulder. "Aren't you cold?" his breath was warm on her neck and she winced. "You should... wear more clothes..."

"Err... Gray-sama..." her voice cracked while he snuggled into her, smiling contentedly in his sleep. "It's you that, um, you... you're not wearing _anything_..." she protested weakly, desperately fighting not to faint. There was his shirt between her and this – this – _this, _right? It was okay. Perfectly okay. Nothing to panic about. It was her Gray-sama, after all.

She shut her eyes and exhaled slowly.

"But you like it..." he mumbled into her collar.

"Gray-sama!" she gasped and flapped his arm gently, frowning at him. But now that he mentioned it, it wasn't as if she didn't... "Uhh..." She fidgeted uncomfortably before realizing that it probably wasn't the best idea. "Juvia does, in some way... But she feels it's a little bit... Um..."

It was scary and sweetly overwhelming at the same time, but she managed to calm down a bit and focus her thoughts on something else. He was so unusually close, and she could just hold him for a while – how blissful and fascinating was that? He seemed so peaceful in her arms, she thought, maybe he should stay like this forever. If only she could convince him to...

She sighed. She could sit like that whole day, really, but she knew she didn't have that much time.

"Gray-sama..." she said, stroking his head delicately. "Wake up. We should go soon... Gray-sama..." She tried once more to free herself from his embrace, even though she had never thought she would want to do something as absurd as that.

"Juvia?" he asked sharply, raising his head, and his muscles all tensed. "Guh! What are you doing?" He blinked in puzzlement, looking at her, at himself, at his clothes scattered all around.

"S-sorry," she gasped, jumping away from his now limp arms. "Gray-sama just... pulled Juvia like that. It wasn't her intention t-to... To take advantage... Um."

"I did?" his face went very red while he stared at her in terror. "Sorry..."

"It's okay..." she whispered.

They stared at each other for a while, blushing wildly.

"Could you..." Gray-sama said finally. "Could you maybe?" he gestured towards her.

"Ah, yes." She turned around quickly, not to look at him. "Sorry."

She heard him putting his clothes on, and shuddered when he came closer and touched her arm.

"You wanted to go somewhere?" he asked softly.

"Yes," she looked at him and got a bit worried, though. "But is Gray-sama going to be warm enough like this? Maybe he could use some cap or scarf." She reached to the shelf above his coat hanger, where she had seen things like that.

"Eh, Juvia," he said quickly and grasped her shoulders to keep her in place. "It's okay. I will be fine." He looked a bit – scared maybe? But why would he be? "Come on," he muttered and dragged her outside, into the snow.

"But- "

"It's fine," he said firmly, flashing her an irritated glare, which somehow seemed unsure at the same time. "And, by the way, those clothes you brought me?" He asked, avoiding her gaze. "Where did you find them? You – you didn't go to my bedroom, did you?" His face flushed even deeper shade of red than before, and she couldn't understand why.

"Oh, no, they were in the drawer in the corridor - "

"Good."

"But - "

"No buts," he grumbled and stopped rapidly. "Where did you want us to go?" He looked at her inquiringly, wrapping his jacket closer around his body.

"It's not far." She gestured towards the forest. "On the other side of those woods." She glanced to the sky – the sun should be rising soon. "But Gray-sama has to wear this," she told him, producing a blindfold from her pocket.

"Juvia." He frowned, studying it with disgust. "Is it really necessary?"

She nodded her head and gave it to him. "Please, Gray-sama."

He growled reluctantly, but put it on anyway. Juvia took his hand and led him further into the forest.

"Be careful, Gray-sama," she said. "A rock. Ice on the road, now deep snow. A tree, and now we're turning left - "

He grumbled something in response, but she didn't really paid attention since they came to the right place already. "It's here," she said, nervously biting her lip. What if he wouldn't like it? What if he'll get angry that she dragged him out of the bed for something like that?

She shook her head, came closer to him and took his blindfold off.

Gray-sama blinked a few times and gasped. "That's... Incredible." He turned to look around. They were surrounded by ice spires and plants ranging from little to giant ones, shining red and orange in the rising sun. From the top of the hill where they were standing, the whole slope could be seen – covered in all kinds of ice constructions, buildings and sculptures: plants, animals, and buildings.

"You did it all by yourself?"

Juvia nodded.

"Seriously? That idiot Lyon wasn't helping you?"

She shook her head. "If Juvia keeps water in the shape long enough, on a night as cold as that it freezes fast enough," she explained.

"You must have been doing this all night..."

"Well, yes, but... Juvia wanted to make something pretty for Gray-sama," she told him. "She wanted to do just one thing at first... But she couldn't decide what should it be. So she did everything." She smiled at him, she never knew what he was thinking when he looked at her like that. "Everything from ice for you. Happy birthday, Gray-sama."

"Thanks," he smiled back at her.

"Of course it's not as pretty as Gray-sama's ice, but Juvia hopes he likes it at least a little bit..." She added bashfully.

"I do," he assured her. "More than little bit, too. You could enter some ice sculpture contest, you know? Ice mages are forbidden to take part, " he coughed, as if he was amused because of some joke she didn't know. "But I bet they didn't think of _that. _You'd definitely win._"_

Juvia felt wave of warmth rising inside her. He seemed truly impressed by her work, and she let herself to feel a shy pride.

"What's that?" Gray-sama's voice brought her back to reality. He pointed to the shiny walls in the middle of the slope. "A maze?"

"Yes," she nodded. "Does Gray-sama like - "

"Yeah," he smiled, turned and sprinted right inside it.

"Oh, Gray-sama, wait - " she went after him into the labyrinth. "It's huge and - "

She took a turn and almost bumped into his back.

"J-Juvia," he stammered, pointing at the sculpture in the middle of the wide corridor, while his face paled. "What the... What's that..."

"Uhhh," she jumped in front of him, flailing her arms. "Juvia is sorry! Gray-sama wasn't supposed to see it! Juvia thought she melted it! She - "

"Eh? It's... It's us?" he glanced at it above her head and his face reddened deeply.

"Yes..." she lowered her gaze and clasped her hands bashfully.

"Eh... um." Gray-sama stepped closer to the sculpture and tilted his head. She knew he wouldn't like it – he looked as if he saw a ghost. She should have destroyed it, but... "All things aside... is it even anatomically possible?" he asked finally, his voice flat.

'Well..." Juvia squinted at the thing. "If Juvia bent a little more than normally, using her Water Body... then if Gray-sama really stretched his arm... And put his weight more to back... Hm..." She gestured thoughtfully. "Juvia thinks it is." She glanced at him with a new hope. "Does Gray-sama want us to check empirically?"

"Guh!" Gray-sama jumped a few steps away from her. "No need! It was just a theoretical question, okay?"

He caught her wrist and dragged her further into the labyrinth, as if the sculpture was going to chase them. He only stopped when they took a turn, and brushed his forehead with a sleeve, exhaling slowly.

"Okay," he said finally, "Some other scary things around?"

Juvie shook her head vigorously. _Love is not scary, Gray-sama_, she wanted to tell him, but she suspected it would only scare him more. He was what he was.

"There is a fountain here," she said, leading him to the center chamber of the maze.

The fountain stood in the middle, large and spiky, embroidered with all kinds of ice flowers and birds. The blue light shone through the ice and water, changing smoothly into green, then white, then blue again.

"Wow, so much detail," Gray-sama said, touching one of the flowers. "And the lights? Lacrima?"

Juvia nodded. "We can sit here for a while, if you want, Gray-sama," she said, pointing to an ice bench she created earlier. He complied, not taking his eyes off the fountain for a second.

"I must say you think big," he said quietly, as she perched beside him. "And it's very pretty, too." He turned to look at her and sent her a smile that made her heart skip a few beats. "Thanks," he said.

It made her so happy that she couldn't restrain herself from drifting closer to him and catching his arm. He tensed, but let her nevertheless, and she was infinitely grateful – for this moment, he was there just for her, and it was so perfect she could burst from joy.

"But," his voice came resonating through her cloud of happiness,"You must have pumped a lot of magic into it."

"Yes," she admitted, nuzzling his shoulder. It was such a good feeling to be at his side like that, she could stay up every night making things from ice if he would always let her touch him in return -

"And you've stayed all night like that, in this cold? You must be tired."

"Oh?" Juvia tilted her head up to look at him. Was he worried? "Not really," she lied.

"No? More like totally exhausted?" he asked doubtfully, his dark eyes warmer than before.

"No!" Juvia suppressed a yawn. Now that he mentioned it, she did feel more tired – and a bit sleepy from all the warmth and bliss of his closeness circulating inside her.

"Juvia will be okay... If she'll just close her eyes for a minute," she decided, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. He seemed to be saying something, but she didn't really hear it.

And the next thing she knew, he was carrying her on his back, mumbling something about how she's gonna get completely wasted on his surprise birthday party if she'll not rest before it. And also, how no one ever did for him something as beautiful as her ice everything, and how kind it was of her.

But that was probably just a dream, she thought when she recalled it later.

After all - how could he possibly know about the surprise party?


	3. Snow

**Snow**

There were footprints in the snow in front of his house.

It seemed as if they magically appeared from nowhere. Here was a path to his house with his own footprints – and no others were there. Then, just in front of his door, the other trail began – smaller than his own and going left, where the woods were.

It was strange, he thought. Would someone teleport here? Would someone fly?

Sinking in the snow with each step, he followed the trail.

It went down the path between heaps and heaps of snow, among woods all white and shiny, up to the hill, where in the middle of a large snow plain -

- she was just lying, a striking splash of blue amongst the endless white. Half buried in the snow, she was rising her hand to touch the snowflakes falling on her face.

Half puzzled, half mesmerized, he came quietly to sit by her side.

"Gray-sama," she greeted him with a smile, faint shade of red on her cheeks contrasting sharply with her skin, as white as snow.

He just looked at her, afraid to break the spell that turned her into the fairy queen of winter. Snowflakes were whirling down on her face, shining in her hair, melting on her nose. He winced.

"You're..." he hesitated. He knew he would regret saying this.

"What Juvia is?" she asked, smiling softly.

_The most beautiful thing in the world right now,_ he thought.

"Nothing," he murmured, looking at his knees. His generous fairy didn't press him, though.

"Why are you here?" he asked, suddenly uncomfortable with the silence.

"Juvia saw Gray-sama's footprints in front of the guild," she said, turning her gaze to the sky. "And she wanted to check how her foot would fit into one. Then another, and another." She absent-mindedly drew abstract patterns in the snow. "And so it led her to Gray-sama's house, but she didn't thought he would like her to disturb him, so she came here instead."

There was something sad in it, he thought, but he wouldn't say it. "But lying down like this... Aren't you cold?" he asked instead.

She shook her head slowly, her eyes flickering with strange lights.

"How could Juvia be cold here?" she asked, smiling gently at him. "The snow is like ice and water together. It's like Juvia's and Gray-sama's love."

"Eh... What?" He felt sudden dizziness. How was she able to say those things with straight face? Or was he going crazy, imagining things?

"Like our love, Gray-sama."

"But... There's no such thing as... I-I... I don't..."

She hushed him quiet with her gaze, serious, affectionate, and daring. He wasn't able to hold it, so he just stared into the snow.

"Shouldn't..." he said, plunging his hand in the snow, feeling like a fool. "Shouldn't love be warm?" He cringed slightly when he heard himself saying _this word_.

"Is Gray-sama's love warm?"

"What- what kind of question is this..." And how could he answer that? He lied down in the snow too, to hide from her eyes.

"Well, Juvia doesn't really know the answer."

He just pressed his cheek into the snow, turning his head away from her. If he didn't say anything, maybe she would just change topic..?

"But if it's cold, Juvia is fine with it too," she said, and he could tell she was smiling even if he didn't see her. "Or if it's thorny, or painful, or sour. As long as it's Gray-sama's."

"What are you talking about, Juvia?" He stared into the snow where her face should be. "All the love should be warm. And nice, not any of those things."

"Is Gray-sama's love warm then?" Her hand wandered through the snow all the way to his and touched it, very gently. He didn't move, shocked that he fell into her trap again.

"I've got no such thing," He said finally, taking his hand away from her and crossing his arms on his chest.

"Gray-sama has no such thing as love?"

"Yeah," he told her, even though he felt something clenching on his guts. "I only got cold things inside me."

"Gray-sama is lying," she said through her smile.

"I'm not."

"It's strange that Juvia would know better when Gray-sama is lying than himself."

"I'm not lying, Juvia," he grumbled.

"Uh-hum." she purred doubtfully.

He took a handful of snow and threw it on her.

"Gray-sama just hit Juvia with our love!"

"It's just some snow, Juvia, not our... our..."

"So Gray-sama admits that it exists!"

"Don't put words into my mouth!" He felt his fists clenching. "All I wanted to say is that snow is just snow, not something else."

"Gray-sama knows nothing."

"Oh, and you're so knowledgeable all of a sudden." he snorted.

"Gray-sama is so stubborn," Juvia hummed. "Our love covers all the ground and the trees, and it falls from the sky, and Gray-sama still denies it, even as he's lying in it."

"..."

"See, Gray-sama," she knelt beside him, filled her hands with the snow and sprinkled it on his chest and stomach.

"It doesn't prove anything," he protested.

Juvia just smiled at him, pressing her cheek to the snow she held in her hands. "Then say you don't love Juvia, Gray-sama."

Gray sat up and brushed the snow off his clothes. "Fine," he said. "I... I..." But she would be so hurt if he said that... He swallowed. "But of course, you're my nakama and..." His eyes slided sideways on their own.

"See?" She beamed, sprinkling heaps of snow all over his boots.

Gray pressed his forehead into hand. "It doesn't mean anything. And you're gonna get cold," he grumbled. Who knew how long she was lying here? Her lips were turning blue, he noticed.

"It's fine, as long as it's because of Gray-sama's love..."

"But it's not!" He stood up and held a hand for her to pull her up too. "Come."

"Where are we going, Gray-sama?"

"To my house," he said. "We have to warm you up."


	4. Hot chocolate

**Hot chocolate**

"What about the raspberry one, Gray-sama?"

"It's still too hot and too sweet, really, I told you I - "

"The coffee-flavored one should be less sweet! Juvia will be right back."

Gray sighed deeply, looking in resignation at six cups of hot chocolate already standing in front of him – the peppermint one, the orange ginger one, the macadamia nuts one, the blueberry one, the salted caramel one and finally the infamous raspberry one, none of them really to his liking.

"Here, Gray-sama!"

"Urgh... I guess I'm not so fond of coffee either. Maybe you should give up now, it's okay..."

"But..." her lower lip quivered. "Juvia wanted Gray-sama to have a taste of heaven..."

"Uh, thanks, but..."

"And this chocolaterie is so famous... Juvia thinks this chocolate tastes divine, too."

"I'm just not a hot chocolate person, I guess." Gray smiled to her apologetically and pushed the cups in her direction. "But look at it this way, now you can have all this heaven for yourself."

"Really?" Juvia clasped her hands and looked at him in awe. "Juvia can drink Gray-sama's chocolate?"

"Sure," he shrugged. "It would be a waste if you didn't."

And there was no harm in it, was it, he thought, observing her blissful attack on chocolate.

Boy, was he wrong.

"Gray-sama, look! Such a cute puppy!"

"Yeah, yeah, it's cute, but we have to go _now_, if we want to catch that train home."

"Why is Gray-sama so bad? Juvia just wanted to play with the puppy..." the girl looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Juvia didn't do anything wrong..."

"Eh? Juvia, why are you..? Juvia!" He shouted, as two streams of water sprang from her eyes. "You know you shouldn't cry in populated areas, you can drown the whole quarter - "

"Don't shout at Juvia, Gray-sama..." she pleaded between sobs.

"I'm not shouting, hey... don't cry. You can play with the puppy if you want, but what's with you? Hey, shh." He came nearer despite the fountain coming out of her and stroked her head through her cap, hoping it would calm her a bit. "It's okay. Uhh... good Juvia. Good girl."

She brushed her eyes and looked at him hopefully. "Really?"

"Well, yeah?"

She smiled brightly and started to pet the puppy, while Gray scratched his head in a mild shock. Sure, Juvia could act crazy sometimes, but this wasn't like _normal_ crazy.

"Juvia is ready to go," she told him after a few minutes, during which he managed to squeeze most of the water out of his clothes and even put some of them back on.

"Are you okay?" he asked cautiously, leading her to the town square.

"Yes, Juvia is fine!" she beamed at him as if nothing happened. "But... look, Gray-sama! This cloud!" She pointed at the sky.

"What's with it?"

"It seems sad..." She sniffed.

"Wha..? Juvia, don't!"

But first tears were already streaming down her cheeks.

"It's a very happy cloud, see?" he told her quickly. "It's smiling!"

"Is it? Juvia cannot see..."

"Yes, it is! If you look like this! At this angle!" He picked her up by her shoulders and put her down a bit to right, while she whimpered softly. "It's smiling!"

"Oh..." she brushed her face with her sleeve. "Gray-sama is right."

Gray discretely wiped off the sweat from his forehead. Disaster was averted barely – and what the hell was going on – and...

"Hey!" he exclaimed in surprise, when she gasped and just fell down limply. He caught her before she hit the ground and cradled her head on his lap. "Juvia, hey, why would you pass out on me? Wake up, wake up..." he said worriedly, shaking her a little.

"Excuse me," a middle-aged woman made her way through the small crowd starting to gather around them. "I'm a doctor. Let me examine her."

Gray let the doctor do her thing, but she barely managed to check Juvia's pulse before the girl suddenly gasped and sat up.

"What's going on, Gray-sama?" She whispered, blinking in surprise at all the people around.

"You just passed out, miss," the doctor said. "Please stay calm, I'm a doctor. Are you pregnant?"

"Juvia is... pregnant?" She stared at the woman in terror, cupping her blushed cheeks. Then she started to fidget, muttering to herself something inaudible.

"Uhm..." Gray looked apologetically at the doctor. "I'm pretty sure she's not pregnant."

"Then there's only one explanation," the woman announced. "Hot chocolate overload syndrome."

"What?" Gray stared at her in disbelief.

"It happens a lot in this area," explained the doctor. "Have you been to our famous chocolaterie?"

"Yeah, but..."

"Did she have more than one chocolate?" the woman glanced attentively at Juvia, who was still mumbling nonsensical words and tugging at her hair.

"Uh... She had seven."

"Seven? My god... Then it's no wonder she's like that." the woman shrugged. "It should be gone tomorrow, but for today, be prepared for severe mood swings. She might cry a lot - "

"What? She absolutely shouldn't cry!" Gray protested, terrified, instinctively keeping in place Juvia, who just tried to get up.

The doctor shrugged. "Make her happy, then."

"Is there no cure?"

"Some people say it helps to suck on ice cubes. There's a shop with ice nearby if you want to try - "

"Don't worry about the ice! But will it work?" he looked at the woman pleadingly.

"Alternatively, you might try rolling her naked in corn leaves."

Gray coughed, feeling his face getting very warm. "Eh, thanks, I'll stay with ice."

"Good luck, then." She looked at him doubtfully and went away, leaving him alone with totally flustered Juvia.

"Gray-sama..." she whimpered, clutching to his arm. "This dove just got pecked by the other one..."

This was going to be a long day.

* * *

><p>"Here, have another ice cube."<p>

"It's too cold, Gray-sama." Juvia gave him a little frown.

"But you like cold, don't ya?" he smirked at her and winked. She squealed softly, blushed, cupped her cheeks in her hands and took the ice cube from him.

"Juvia likes cold," she confirmed.

They were sitting on a grassy hill, with a great view of the whole town. Going back home was out of the question – Gray suspected that railway people wouldn't like their precious trains flooded; and he didn't want to cause any more trouble in the city either. Fords on nearby rivers were already impossible to get across (especially after they had found an unfortunate hedgehog that had been run over), and canals seemed on the verge of bursting (all because Juvia wanted to adopt a family of seven little kittens, and he had to tell her no). He had got soaked so many times he even stopped to count, and in his irritation he even started to imagine dispatching her to Lyon (although that douchebag would probably just take advantage of her. Or something).

At least, he tried to comfort himself, it wasn't raining.

Yet.

"Look, Gray-sama, this wasp is trying to kill a fly! Poor thing, it's going to get eaten!.."

"Eh? Okay, just give me a moment," he said. At least she was easy to cheer up. "I'll help that miserable bastard," he promised, driving the wasp away from its victim. "See? Your little fly is safe now."

"Thank you, Gray-sama," Juvia squeezed his arm tighter. "You're so manly!"

"Uh-huh. Here, delicious ice cube for ya."

"Noo... Juvia doesn't want any more of those." she whined, wrinkling her nose.

"Oh, come on. This one is for Master Makarov. You like that old geezer, don't you?"

"Uh, yes, he's so kind," she said, putting the cube in her mouth. "But he is old! What if he'll die?" The tears dwelt in her eyes again.

"He won't die any soon!" Gray protested frantically. He definitely had enough soaking already. "Look, such beautiful flowers. Those yellow ones, and the blue ones too." Juvia looked where he pointed and calmed down visibly.

"They're really beautiful," she admitted, touching them gently. "But what if..." her lip quivered again.

"What if what?" He asked, slightly panicked.

"What if they would destroy the meadow to build another shopping mall? Gray-sama..." she sobbed.

"But they won't, they won't." Gray looked around in search for distraction, but didn't find any, so he quickly embraced the girl and pressed to himself. "I'm sure they won't. It's too pretty. There's a law forbidding it."

She squealed softly, but then leaned into him and sighed, content again.

"If you say so," she said, nuzzling his chest, while he twitched uncomfortably.

"Here," he said, creating another ice cube and putting it to her mouth.

"Uh-uhm," she shook her head and pursed her lips tightly.

"For that idiot Gajeel," he suggested. "He's your friend."

"Um. He is," she said, taking the cube and licking his hand in the process. He jumped at the strange sensation, but she just raised her worried eyes to him like nothing happened.

"Gray-sama, but what will we do?" she asked helplessly.

"With what?"

"With the baby," she whispered, looking down and stroking her stomach. "How will we provide for her? Oh, Juvia probably will have to stop working! How can Juvia make a Water Body now?" She brought her hands to her mouth and squealed.

"Um, Juvia..."

"Juvia is too young for this!" she whined, on the verge of tears again. "What if Juvia gets fat? Will Gray-sama still want her? And giving birth!" She raised her eyes to skies in terror. "Juvia heard it's very painful! Juvia is not ready to have a daughter..." she shook her head vigorously.

"Eh... aside from everything else... why do you think it's a girl?" He asked absurdly.

"Oh! Gray-sama is right!" Her eyes grew even wider and more scared. "It might be a boy!" She stood up and started to go away. "Juvia has to go now," she said. "She doesn't know anything about little boys! She must get prepared! Read a book or something!"

"Oi, Juvia, come back here!" he caught her wrist and gently pulled her down. She looked at him reproachfully.

"But Juvia has to - "

"Juvia. I'm pretty sure little boys are not that much different than little girls."

"How can Gray-sama know this?" She pouted, crossing her arms on her chest. "Gray-sama should read a book too..."

"Oh, come on, they just sleep and eat and cry and make a mess," he answered from the depths of his eighteen-year-old wisdom. "Besides, it's not like we're really having a baby."

"How can you say such a thing, Gray-sama? The doctor said Juvia is pregnant! Do you know better than the doctor? Oh, Gray-sama - "

"No, listen, it wasn't - "

She shook her head in horror. "Are you going to deny this? Do you want Juvia to do... this awful thing – Juvia would never do this! Juvia is going!" She jumped on her feet, teary eyed and furious, and started to run away from him. Gray sighed deeply and went after her.

"Juvia - "

"No! Gray-sama will not make Juvia hurt her child!" She glanced at him over her arm, sad and angry, and then stopped to flood him in a spurt of water.

So much for not getting soaked anymore. Gray growled, irritated. "Can you listen to me for a second?" He snarled.

"No! Juvia will not listen! How can Gray-sama want such a terrible thing? Juvia thought differently of Gray-sama!" She clenched her fists, but then her shoulders slumped and she started to cry, covering her face and creating a little stream flowing down the path.

"Juvia," he said softly, his anger already forgotten. He came closer to her, but she stepped back. "Juvia, I don't want you to do this," he told her, giving up to her madness. "You got it all wrong. I would never want it. Please, don't cry."

He tried to get closer to her again, and this time she let him. He embraced her gently and she poured her tears into his shirt – as if it could absorb any more water.

"Gray-sama doesn't?" She sniffed.

"Sure," he repeated. "I would never want it. It's my kid too." He coughed, embarrassed, realizing what he had just said. "I mean - "

"So we can keep the baby?" she raised her head to look at him hopefully, streams of tears slowly drying out. "Gray-sama will help?"

"Eh, isn't it obvious? It's only right. But - "

"And Gray-sama will read a book about little girls, just in case?"

"I'll read whatever you want, but - "

"That's great!" She squeezed him so tight it left him breathless and nuzzled his chest vigorously. "But, Gray-sama," she said, worried again. "We've got no money."

"I've got some savings," he managed to mutter, barely able to inhale.

"But what if there are twins!" she cupped her cheeks and shook her head.

"I've got enough for twins, but could you - "

"Triplets!"

"Can we not go any further than that?" He frowned at her, grasping her shoulders to bring her attention back to him. "Would you listen to me for a minute? I wanted to say something too."

"Yes? Okay, Gray-sama," she beamed at him beautifully.

"So, what doctor said - "

"Gray-sama will be a wonderful father," she said sheepishly, clasping her hands in front of her.

Gray groaned and hid his face in his palm.

"Oh, Gray-sama, are you not happy?" she touched his arm cautiously, leaning closer to look at him. "Juvia doesn't want you to think of it as a burden... She will do everything - "

Gray sighed deeply, wrapped one arm around her waist to keep her in place and put his other hand over her mouth.

"Mmh?" she whimpered in surprise, covering his hand with hers.

"Just listen to me," he begged. "Will you listen?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"I'm not going to let you go anyway," he grumbled, squeezing her tighter when her eyes started to wander around. "Listen, dammit. The doctor only _asked you_ if you were pregnant. She didn't say you actually were. You understand? You're not pregnant." He bore his eyes into her to make sure his message hit the target.

Juvia stared at him blankly for a moment, then her eyes flickered mischievously and she slowly licked his hand.

"Juvia!" he snorted, jumping away from her. "Why would you do that?!"

"Juvia thought Gray-sama should not be so angry," she told him reproachfully.

"Okay, whatever, sorry," he shrugged, discretely wiping his hand of his wet pants. "I just wanted you to listen. Did you understand what I said?"

"Gray-sama said that Juvia is not pregnant." She looked at him doubtfully.

"Yes! Thank you!"

"But... Juvia is still not sure... she thought... and Gray-sama said..." She fidgeted a bit, staring at the ground.

"How can you be not sure?" He looked at her pleadingly. "You do know where children come from, don't you?"

"Yes..." She swallowed and her face got all red. "When the... um, and... and then..." she explained, gesturing vividly with her hands.

"Yeah, yeah, okay, I see you've got that," he said quickly, feeling his face getting terribly warm too. "So, do you remember us doing _that_? Because I don't." He glanced away from her. "And I'm pretty sure I would," he mumbled.

"Well..." she looked sideways, smiling apologetically. "Juvia for a moment thought that... but... It might have been only in Juvia's head... uhm..."

Gray came closer, grasped her shoulders and shook her gently. "We. Did. Not. Okay?"

"Okay, okay, Gray-sama. We didn't." She licked her lips.

"Good. So now you're sure?"

"Yes... but..." She blushed and started to make circles with her foot. "Maybe we could?"

"You're not serious," he said. What was that chocolate doing to her? Seriously, he was not going to let her drink any more ever (well, maybe some day. But not if Lyon was around.).

"No, Juvia is serious," she raised her eyes to him and winked at him. "If Gray-sama has enough money for triplets, then where's the harm?"

She _winked_. It was freakin' scary.

"There's no one around," she continued in conspiratorial whisper. "Juvia could do some things for Gray-sama... like this... or that..."

Gray just stared at her. Crying was one thing – he could bear some amount of crying, heck, he was even getting good at it - but this now was on a totally different level. He had to do something about it – and right now. What did the doctor say..?

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her down the road.

"But... we were supposed to..." she complained. It wasn't going to stop him, though. "Where are we going?" she asked, trying to catch up to him.

"To the fields near the village," he told her, terrified of himself but determined nevertheless. "I think I saw some corn leaves there."


	5. Bath

_**Author's note:**__ probably that means I am evil._

* * *

><p><strong>Bath<strong>

Gray plunged himself in hot water and stretched contentedly. The bath was quite warm, but that was exactly what his tired muscles needed.

The baths in the resort where Fairy Tail members were staying were pretty luxurious – full of exotic plants, with ebony and marble bathtubs and colorful mosaics on the walls. Still, it was weird that there was something quite soft against his hand. The bathtub itself was made from wood and he saw no reason why would there be something so soft and smooth at the bottom – and especially, why was it moving -

The water splashed sideways and he saw familiar blue hair, wet and messy, along with the rest of Juvia – much more exposed rest than he would feel comfortable with. He pressed his back into the tub, blinking in shock, while Juvia yawned, rubbed her eyes and looked around drowsily.

"Kyah!" she squealed when she saw him, splattered a fountain of water on him, then jumped back and started to scream.

Gray cursed, rushing to catch her, and covered her mouth. "Juvia, don't... " She froze and looked at him with very wide eyes. "There are people around," he hissed. "If they notice you, it will only get worse."

Juvia took a deep breath and pulled his hand away from her mouth, trying – and failing – to cover herself with her other hand. "What are you doing in the girls' baths, Gray-sama?" she snapped, frowning at him, her eyes sending a deadly threat despite all the blush covering her cheeks.

"What? You're wrong," he told her. This was bad. "Look around."

Juvia looked at him incredulously and slowly turned her head to take in the rest of their surroundings – naked men in the bathtubs, naked men in the pool, naked men around the fountains and showers. Her face immediately got even redder than it already was (though he didn't think it was even possible) a little puff of steam flew out of her head, the water around them got much warmer, and she started to scream again.

Gray quickly covered her mouth once more. She fell quiet and shut her eyes tight, so he hesitantly took his hand away.

"This isn't happening," she muttered to herself, keeping her eyes shut and pinching her own arm. "This isn't happening. This is just a nightmare, wake up, Juvia, wake up - "

"Yeah, it is," he sighed. "It's men's baths. What are you even doing here?"

She opened her eyes to see the scene once more, then squealed and caught him in a hug, hiding her face in his chest. Gray gasped, trying to free himself, but she squeezed him frantically. "Gray-sama, there are naked men everywhere - " she squeaked tearfully.

"Yeah, that's what men's baths are about, ya know," he grumbled, trying to ignore still rising temperature of water - as well as the fact that her _holy freakin' breast_ was pretty much spread all over his chest. He shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Juvia, could you maybe - "

"And they can all see Juvia!" she sobbed, trembling. "Juvia is going to die!"

"Um, no one really pays attention to us," he assured her, looking around to check. "We're half covered by those plants, and seems like no one heard you yet, so - "

"But they're still here!" She pressed herself even more to him, straddling his thigh. Gray jumped and almost squealed himself.

"Juvia, do you even realize what you're doing?" he asked weakly, trying to push her away without touching her too much.

"Huh?" she winced, looking up to him, wide-eyed. "Huh?" she repeated, while her gaze slid lower, to take in both their naked bodies. "Kyah!" she screamed again, jumping away from him and plunging under water, as it started to boil.

Gray cursed and created some ice to cool down the water, then pressed his hand to his forehead and cooled himself, exhaling slowly. Juvia was nowhere to be seen.

"Juvia," he called her quietly. "You will have to come out eventually, you know."

He waited, but the water was perfectly still.

"If I came out of the tub, someone else might think it's free and come here," he said. "It would be even worse, no? Come on, we will figure something out."

The water splashed behind his back and he resisted the urge to turn, staring straight ahead instead. He heard her moving and soon her shoulder and cheek touched his back, as she tried to hide behind him.

"Will we?" she asked, trembling despite all the warmth.

"Yeah," he assured her, glancing briefly behind his shoulder. "We will. We are Fairy Tail, after all."

She snorted quietly, but he felt her slowly relaxing.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes..." she said hesitantly. "Gray-sama... Juvia is s-sorry that she – she - "

"It's okay," he said quickly.

"And... is Gray-sama sure that no one has seen Juvia?" she seemed to shrink even more against his back. Clearly, she was stressed out like hell, and he hadn't even know she could be so shy.

"Yeah..." He scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well... Just me, if it helps."

"Guh!"

"But, ya know, you're in the water and stuff," he babbled. "So..."

"B-but this water is transparent - "

"Only half-transparent, really," he mercifully chose not to tell her that his tactile sensations were way more vivid than visual.

"Juvia will still die," she sobbed.

"Don't die," he pleaded. "It's just a matter of getting used to it. You know, it happens to me all the time."

"It's different with Juvia," she whined, throwing her arms around his stomach and pressing her breast to his back.

"Juvia, you're doing this again."

"Kyah! Sorry!" she quickly took her hands away, whispering a series of embarrassed apologies.

"It's fine." _Only scary. _"How did you even get here?"

"Juvia just wanted to take a bath in the morning," she answered. "She must have somehow confused the baths... And then she fell asleep."

"You must have been here really early."

"Yes, Juvia wanted to avoid everyone."

"You succeeded greatly," he snorted.

"Don't be mean, Gray-sama," she pressed her cheek to his shoulder blade. "But... Juvia was so lucky that it was Gray-sama who came here! What if it was someone else!?" she squealed softly.

Gray sighed. "I would kill him," he snarled, clenching his jaw.

"Gray-sama would?" the water splashed behind him as she clasped her hands.

"Yeah." The mere thought made him want to hit someone. "Okay, we need to smuggle you out somehow."

"Juvia was thinking..." she said. "If she just drowned everyone, than she could go away without being seen."

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea," he nodded. "I could also freeze half of those bastards."

"Yes... but then... maybe we shouldn't do that."

"Why?" Gray looked around at the strolling men. "I don't like them near you, and with their _stuff_ out like that." He growled quietly, until he realized what was he doing. "I mean, because you are my nakama and I don't want to see you distressed," he added quickly.

"Gray-sama is so kind." He felt her smiling as her cheek moved against his skin. "But killing people is bad, right? Master said not to do that."

"Those are special circumstances," he persisted, but deep inside he knew she was right. "Then maybe... we will capture their attention with something and you'll sneak out."

"That's too risky..." Juvia trembled again. "Juvia couldn't go out of the bathtub with all those men nearby... Even if they were looking other direction. She would die."

"Stop with that dying thing," he demanded.

"She would not go out of her room ever again."

"That's more like it," he praised her. "Anyway, what else can we do?"

"Maybe Juvia would turn into water and stream out of here..." she hesitated.

"That doesn't sound too pleasant, though." He glanced at her over his arm. "If it was so easy, you would do this already."

"Yes, well... Juvia doesn't really like it... All the things from the floor catch in her body and, um..." She winced slightly. "And there might be some people in the changing room, where Juvia's clothes are."

Gray massaged his nose, lost in thoughts. "We should think of something else," he decided. "What can it be... Ah! I've got an idea," he said.

"What kind of - " she started to say, but he was already getting out of bathtub.

"Don't worry," he told her, glancing behind his arm. "It should give you a clear opening."

"Oh, but... Wait, Gray-sama..."

Gray didn't wait – he went straight to the main pool and put his plan into motion.

* * *

><p>"Ow..."<p>

"Juvia is sorry, Gray-sama." She threw away a cotton drenched in his blood and reached for another, to clear the next scratch on his forehead. They hid in a little storage room, rather dusty place, full of old furniture and weird equipment. Light streamed down from high windows straight to the table where Gray was half-lying, along with the first-aid kit that she had stolen from the hotel reception.

"Why would you be sorry? It's not your fault that disinfectants cause stinging." He sighed, smearing wounds on his chest with a healing balm.

"It's Juvia's fault that Gray-sama needs them at all, though." She winced. "Maybe it would be better if Gray-sama went to Wendy with those injuries," she suggested.

"Nah," he sent her a weak smirk. "I'm okay. And she could ask _questions."_

"Does Gray-sama think we can never talk about this to anybody?" She smiled with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I sure hope so," he said, letting her place another patch on his neck.

"You could have at least fight back, Gray-sama," she bit her lip, giving him a half-reproachful glance.

"I was afraid I would really hurt them," Gray sighed. "They weren't mages, after all. And you saved me in the end, so they didn't manage to beat me too hard..."

"Yes, well..." Juvia looked at the floor. "Juvia's sorry."

"You already said it five times already," He reminded her, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "It's all right. More importantly, are you okay?"

"Juvia will be..." she blushed, avoiding his gaze. "Juvia had thought something like that would be even worse, but... Gray-sama was with her and she felt safe."

"No problem, really," he scratched his head. "Listen, Juvia - "

"Yes?"

"When you sleep underwater like that, are you sure there is no risk you would drown?" She looked at him, surprised, and he averted his gaze. "It's just... It would be stupid for a water mage to drown," he muttered.

"It's... It's long lasting spell, Gray-sama, it works even as Juvia sleeps," her eyes grew warmer as she studied his face. "You don't need to worry."

"Yes, but... What if someone, say, turned all the magic down..."

"That's rather silly thing to think of, Gray-sama."

He sighed, tilting his head backwards. "Probably you're right," he admitted, still not convinced.

"Juvia! Gray!"

They looked at each other in horror, as a little figure approached them.

"Dammit," Gray hissed. "So much for a hideout."

"Here you are, kids," Master hummed happily, jumping at the table to sit beside Gray. "I see you're pretty beaten up, Gray, huh?"

"Yeah, well..." Gray massaged his nape, grimacing. "Nothing too serious, though."

"How did it happen, I wonder?"

Juvia hung her head down. "It's Juvia's fault - "

"Yeah, we've had a little quarrel," Gray lied blatantly, looking straight into Master's eyes. "But we're good now, so no need to - "

"That's good too hear," Master patted his arm. "Very good indeed. Now listen, what incredible story I've heard: someone frozen all the men's baths in our resort today."

Juvia almost pierced the floor with her intense gaze, while Gray shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps that bastard Lyon was nearby," he suggested. "Wouldn't be beyond him to cause such a ruckus."

"Yes, yes, that's entirely possible," Master squinted at him. "I've also heard that around half hundred of naked men were running down the streets to catch the culprit."

"Such careless people!" Gray exclaimed, appalled. "They could cause a scandal, no less."

"I've also heard," Master continued, "That they never got him, but a lot of them got half-drowned in a sudden water outpour." He looked intently at Juvia. "Wouldn't you know, Juvia, my dear, about some other water mage that would happen to pass through this town - "

"It's because they wanted to lynch him!" she snapped, standing up to look at Master from above and clenching her fists, her lower lip trembling.

"Oh?"

"They wanted to lynch Gray-sama," she admitted, crossing her arms and turning her head sideways.

Gray sighed deeply, shifting to lie flat on the table. "There we go," he muttered.

"Ah, so it was Gray after all - "

"But it's all Juvia's fault!" The girl almost loomed over Master. "Gray-sama did it because of her! There's no need to blame him."

"Sheesh," Gray propped himself back on his elbows. "It's not your fault, it's shitty bath labeling."

"That, too," she nodded. "But it's Juvia's fault as well. She will take full responsibility - "

"And I did it because I wanted to," he grumbled.

"But for Juvia's sake - "

"It's just as much my fault as yours!"

"It's not!"

"It is!"

"It's not!"

"It - "

"There, there," Master patted Gray's arm. "You're gonna _really_ get into quarrel. And a totally unnecessary one, since I blame both of you anyway. You will be cleaning the guildhall for a month."

"See?" Gray looked triumphantly at worried Juvia.

"Although," Master said, "I must say, it does seem to be a little more Juvia's fault. What were you thinking, my dear, when you went to the man's baths? That's rather bold of you," he raised a brow at her.

"Um..." Juvia's face got all red and she fixed her gaze on the floor. "That was just a mistake, Makarov-san..."

"Wait a second," Gray looked suspiciously at the old man. "How do you even know she was there?"

Master smiled broadly.

"You didn't" Gray gasped.

Juvia squeaked weakly and covered her mouth with hands, her complexion turning into deep carmine.

Master smiled broader. "Can't an old man soak his tired bones from time to time?" he asked innocently, showing them two thumbs up – just before getting hit with a little hammer made from ice.


End file.
